Procycling brings you the colour, action and drama of the world's most spectacular sport in a glossy and dynamic magazine.
It's the authoritative, worldwide voice of international professional road racing, distributed in every country where there are English-speaking fans.
With exclusive features and spectacular photography, Procycling brings to life the complexities, rivalries and hardships of the European professional scene.

Cycling Plus is the manual for the modern road cyclist.
Whether you're cycling weekly, an occasional new rider or a Tour de France fan you’ll find everything you need.
Every issue is packed with expert reviews of the latest road bikes and gear, inspirational routes and rides, evocative features that take you inside every aspect of cycling and unmatched nutrition, fitness and training advice.

Mountain Biking UK celebrates everything that is great about mountain biking, enabling people of all abilities and ages to have a better time on their bike.
MBUK brings you all the latest news, coolest kit, plus exclusive info on the newest and best bikes that you can buy.

Aero road bikes are all the rage this year, with Specialized, Scott and Cervelo all launching new aero frames: the Venge, Foil and S5. Belgian company Ridley have not been napping either, recently launching the Noah Fast.

The Fast – which was originally going to be called the FB (Fast Brake) – has an almost identical frame to the original Noah, just with a new orange and black paintjob. Where it differs is in the fork and seatstays, which are split in two to house integrated brakes, improving aerodynamics even further. It's said to be slightly lighter too.

The bike won’t be available to the public until later this year, and even then the top-end Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 equipped model will have a rather immodest £9,000 pricetag. The version tested here is the SRAM Red loaded prototype Vacansoleil-DCM are riding in the Tour de France.

Ride & handling: Powerful ride, with a few niggles

As the Fast differs little from the existing Noah, it's only right we start with what's changed – the integrated brakes. Not being able to see brake callipers from the saddle is a little disconcerting at first, and we still hadn’t got used to it by the end. There was also a suggestion that the brake pads were hugging the rim during out-of-the-saddle efforts and sharp cornering.

This hints at either slight fork or wheel flex and is something we’d like to take a further look at – look out for a more in-depth review of the Fast on BikeRadar later this year. Vacansoleil-DCM will be using the same bikes on the Tour’s flatter stages (the Helium is still the bike for the mountains) so it'll be interesting to see how they get on.

The Noah Fast also has a long head tube, which seems somewhat incongruous considering its aero credentials. The 56cm frame we tested left us in a fairly upright position, more like a sportive-style bike than a race machine, and there was no way to lower the stem. In the drops of the 4ZA bar it wasn't too bad, but sitting up, we didn’t feel very aero.

Ridley noah fb: ridley noah fb

On the plus side, it’s certainly a quick bike, emphasised by a brief ride beforehand on a Ridley Excalibur. But given the latter bike’s mid-pack status in the Ridley range and where the Fast falls, that should be a given. Ridley claim the Fast will save you around 20 watts at 40kph compared to a “non aero” road bike, and achieving a speed in that ballpark (we didn’t have a computer fitted) certainly felt like less of a drag than the Excalibur.

It’s a forgiving, smooth ride, and we weren’t greeted with a shuddering shock every time we hit a rough patch on the uneven and gravel-strewn roads of our test route. Braking was responsive and powerful, and the integrated seatpost did a good job of taking the sting out of some rough terrain.

The equipment on our test bike differed from that on production machines, so we won't dwell too long on the spec. Derailleurs and shifters were from SRAM's Red groupset – the DoubleTap levers take a bit of getting used to if you normally use Shimano or Campagnolo – with a Rotor chainset up front. Wheels were FFWD F4R-Cs, the comfortable Selle San Marco Regal saddle was much appreciated, and most of the rest of the kit was from 4ZA's Cirrus Pro range.

We'd have liked to have been able to throw the Noah Fast into some steep descents and sharp corners but, this being Belgium on a particularly damp afternoon, we couldn’t, and we didn’t. One thing is certain – we'd definitely like some more time on it in less atrocious conditions to form a better opinion.

Specification

The bike tested here has a team-only build that won't be available in the shops. This year, the Noah Fast will only be available as a frameset (£3,899/US$5,395/€4,499) or with a high-end spec that includes Shimano's Dura-Ace Di2 electronic groupset, for around £9,000. The full build of the production bike is as follows:

Frame: Noah Fast

Fork: Noah Fast 1211A

Front derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2

Rear derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2

Shifters: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2

Cassette: Shimano Dura-Ace 7900, 12-25T

Chainset: Shimano Dura-Ace 7950, 50/34T

Brakes: Shimano Dura-Ace

Chain: KMC X10SL Gold

Saddle: 4ZA Cirrus Pro

Stem: 4ZA Cirrus Pro

Handlebar: 4ZA Cirrus Pro

Tape: 4ZA Stratos

Wheels: 4ZA Cirrus Pro T50

Tyres: Vredestein Fortezza

Related Links

After early cycling flirtations with the Tour de France on childhood holidays, John Whitney fell for it hook, line and sinker in his mid-20s as an escape from the more sedate sports of his youth. As a classically trained news reporter, he snagged his dream job as a cycling writer straight out of college and is now fully immersed in the industry and wouldn't have it any other way.